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Lenzing revenue down 6.4% in 2018 first half

9 August 2018

The revenue of Lenzing in the first half of fiscal 2018 declined by 6.4 per cent compared with the first half of the previous year to €1,075.4 million. The decrease was due to less favourable currency exchange rates.

EBITDA decreased by 28.1 per cent to €194.8 million, especially due to price increases for key raw materials and higher energy prices, said the Austrian textile firm.

The EBITDA margin fell from 23.6 per cent in the first half of 2017 to 18.1 per cent in the first half of 2018. EBIT declined by 37 per cent to €128.7 million, leading to a lower EBIT margin of 12 per cent (H1 2017: 17.8 per cent).

The net profit for the reported period dropped by 39.3 per cent from €150.3 million in the previous year to a total of €91.3 million. Earnings per share equaled €3.44 (H1 2017: €5.55).

The Lenzing Group said it is very well positioned in the market environment with its corporate strategy sCore TEN and will continue its consistent focus on growth with specialty fibres.

​Still, it sees challenging market conditions for the second half of 2018. In addition to the price pressure on standard viscose, the prices of some key raw materials such as caustic soda are still at a very high level and exchange rates continue to be volatile. The specialty fibres are expected to continue their very positive development. In this context, the Lenzing Group said it is satisfied with the earnings development to date, but underlined its estimate that the results for the year 2018 will be lower than the outstanding results in the last two years.

"So far, the financial year 2018 proved to be as challenging as expected, and market headwinds were clearly noticeable. In this market environment, we are satisfied with the solid results we report. We are proud that with our corporate strategy sCore TEN and the focus on growth with specialty fibers we show big steps in the right direction," said Stefan Doboczky, chief executive officer of the Lenzing Group.

“We will continue to implement our strategy with great discipline and are convinced that this will steadily improve the long-term profitability of Lenzing,” Doboczky added.

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The Austrian fibre producer behind the Tencel brand has posted a 5.2% decline in sales to €1.64 billion ($1.8bn) for the first nine months of the year, as it was forced to pay more for key raw materials.

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